Baseball is the major pro sport that has been hit the hardest by steroid complaints, but I say no sport has done a better — albeit belated — job of cracking down on PEDs. Just look at the evidence. In the new era of the pitcher, the average baseball team scored 157 fewer runs last year than it did during the height of the steroid era in 2000. It also hit 35 fewer home runs and saw its batting average drop from .270 to .253. It’s even lower this year at .250.

Offense in baseball has shrunk dramatically. Homer happy fans might not like it, but it’s also made it a better, more well-rounded game, where everything no longer looks like a slowpitch softball slugfest. And with pitchers no longer living in fear of the home run, walks, baseball’s most boring play, are also down 20 percent. Compare that to the NFL. No, you seldom hear about steroids or HGH in football, yet football players get faster and bigger every year. They never go backward the way MLB hitters have.

Mickelson silent

Three-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson says he has “done absolutely nothing wrong” but is being investigated in an insider trading probe. “I wish I could fully discuss this matter, but under the current circumstances, it’s just not possible,” he told reporters. When famous people say that, they mean “it’s not in my best interests.” Sorry, this is America. You can almost always talk. In legal matters, it’s often just smarter not to, but that’s not the same as “it’s just not possible.”

All about Manziel

Johnny Manziel was reportedly “impressive” in OTAs where he was compared to RG III. I’d complain about this NFL offseason being covered as if it were the National Manziel League if this weren’t the first time in a decade the national media has noticed a Cleveland Brown.

Long playoff road

After playing its last two games in Morrison, Byron now travels to Rock Island for baseball sectionals, yet the IHSA groups neighboring teams in the same regional without seeding the sectional because of travel considerations. I say just let the higher seed play at home and flip a coin to break ties. That way at least one team won’t have to travel at all. And home games are always more electric than neutral sites.